Afterward, His Majesty invited Minister Xie and Minister Fan to enter the palace. The three of them closed themselves in for a discussion that lasted a day. When they emerged from the palace, neither of them brought up the matter of expanding the Harem again, and to this day, no one knows what His Majesty said that led Minister Xie and Minister Fan to abandon their attempts to advise on this matter.
When Zhao Zhong falsely accused Consort De of assaulting General Xu, it coincided with the time when Minister Xie was not in the Capital.
Minister Xie had been ordered to leave the Capital to inspect the levying of taxes throughout the regions for over half a year. When His Majesty announced during the Mid-Autumn Festival that Beauty Lian in the Harem was carrying the Imperial Heir, Minister Xie was far away in the grain stronghold of Jiangnan. Upon hearing the news, he was overjoyed and immediately sent a message of congratulations that very night.
